This invention relates to a quick yet nevertheless accurate way of determining physical treatment and physiological values. The invention is particularly useful in an emergency, intensive care, or surgical environment where accurate determination of body weight has, in the past, been important in determining proper medical treatment values, such as drug dosages, etc., yet difficult to obtain because time is of the essence and scales are either not available or impractical to use because of the patient's condition.
Furthermore, as medical treatment has become more complex, drug dosages have become more critical. Since most drug dosages have been based historically on the body weight of the patient, the physician must first estimate the weight of the patient, then either consult tables to determine the appropriate dosage, or determine the dosage by memory and then multiply dosage times estimated weight for each drug. In either case, the possibility of error is present and in fact enhanced by the pressure of time and circumstance which often attend emergency medical treatment.
However, it has been recognized that in many cases weight is an inaccurate and inappropriate basis on which to determine physical treatment values, such as drug dosages, tube lengths and sizes, medical equipment settings and so forth. Yet, weight remains the most common way of determining these values. In many cases, length is a much more appropriate way to determine many physical treatment values. For example, the length of an endotracheal tube is very closely related to the overall length of a patient, whether that patient is underweight, overweight or of an ideal weight. Likewise, it is now known that an obese patient weighing significantly more than a patient of normal weight will certainly not need a proportional increase in the dosage of most drugs and, in fact, can be dosed to toxic levels in this way. This is because many drugs distribute only in the lean body tissue. Yet, patient treatment values are still most often determined by estimating the patient's weight.